Dark Musings

Dark Soul

2011-01-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

So my dark darlings it has most certainly been a while since I have given you an update with my evil. First off, the family has been well. We had a relatively good holiday and I look to the new year with hope. I have already begun to lay down what needs to happen for expansion and added movement here in the site as well as in my own works. Shall we see what has been going on then?

First off I'm not sure if I had posted it, but the how to book that I am in has come out. You can order it online or pick it up at your local bookstore in the graphic novel section. I am in this publication in two places, which means that I have about 8 pages of full color content in it. I'm so happy about this. Here is the link so that you may see what I'm going on about: Creating Comics!

Hmm, what to start with next... Perhaps I should tell you about Am I Immortal. There are sections in it that are nearly complete as there is a good portion of this installment that involves Cain reliving a memory. Because of this section I have had to really expand both my inks and pencil works, sacrificing some of the vagueness that I had in the panels in books 1 and 2 when I was unsure of what they would look like, to show exact motion and not slump. I went from wanting a couple perfect panels throughout the book to wanting one per page, and pushing for that. Perhaps it is vanity that is driving me to love what I create, or perhaps it is that I wish for you to see it as I do in my minds eye and share this part of my soul with you as it was meant to be seen. Book three is laid out as though it was drawn on sheets of shattered glass. That is the intent. It is not merely me smearing my inability to follow rules in people's faces when it comes to comics, but it is supposed to look like it is broken and has been laying about bleeding its life at you. I'll warn you... It only is going to get worse. Here is the first page so you can enjoy some of my slow progress:

Now that Am I immortal has had its moment I would like to mention Meth. The Meth Collection is available now on Indyplanet. With the cover it is 80 pages and it is in color. It features Illos from Screaming Samurai Studio as well as a preview of what is to come in the novel. Here is a link to where it is available: The Meth Collection
Now about the novel. Meth: Embrace is actually coming a lot faster than I thought it would. Recently I have had to take a breather from it but I do hope to pick it up again shortly. My days off have sadly begun to coincide with snow days that Damon has... which sucks because he is a sponge when it comes to my attention. Writing is so mentally consuming, I turn into an evil witch when he's around if I make any attempts to work on it. That being said I am 50 pages into it and have been formatting and editing as I go. I hope that, when it is completed and I have typed the final hurtful word... it will be ready to go. I am unsure of how to proceed with it as it is not a comic, and I don't know if I should shop around to potential publishers to see if it has a chance at being published and distributed in a more regular sense, or if I should just continue to address the printed world with my middle finger raised and continue in my own way.

Lastly for this week I had wanted to mention some other projects that I am working on. There is a set of three illos that I am doing for a monster book. One of them has already been accepted and I hope to continue the good work with the other two. The first one was a vampire piece which turned itself into the beautiful Andreus. I should expect these things to just happen but I admit it was a bit of a surprise. You will get to know Andreus properly when book 3 comes out for Am I Immortal. The piece that I am working on now is called "The Rise of Dark Gaia". It is really creepy. I have some sculptural pieces that I am working on too, as well as a collection that I am slowly trying to build so I can eventually tell you all to go to a gallery show featuring yours truly, I hope. For now you get to see Saved, which is the Illo I just completed:

Now you all have to do me a big favor before you wander off into exploring your own dark paths. Please go see what Screaming Samurai has been up to. He has been working his little butt clean off and I really want you all to go let him know how groovy it is to see him pushing so hard. I promise you will see the result of his efforts very soon on Immortal Gothic. for now I shall let you go my darlings. Please remember to be bad, be very bad, and enjoy the night.

Convention Mention

2010-09-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hello my darlings. Man, I have been SO sick these last couple weeks. Long story short, a cold and poison ivy, complete with fever, itching, and the general inability to breath. I have not been a very happy person at all. So I will however still be making some upcoming shows which I am really looking forward to. I wanted to let you know about where I will be and what I have been doing to ensure that you, my illustrious fans, have a most glorious time.

First off I will be at Comic Con in NY which is October 8th through the 10th. I will be at table number NYAFC4 which is listed under the wondrous and amazing Liz Ortiz! It is by her efforts alone that we clinched the table as I was seriously being given the runaround of my life. Please make sure that you stop by and say hello as both Liz and myself will have new material out for the show!

Now there is an afterparty which will be of epic proportions. It is being organized by Mark Mazz and I have offered to help as I have in years past. Here is the info that you need to get there as well as information about its sponsors:

The INDY AFTER PARTY 2010
Where:
Blaggard's Pub & Restaurant
8 West 38th Street
New York, NY 10018
www.blaggardsny.com

Date & Time:
Saturday night,
October 9th, 2010
8pm – Midnight
Cash bar with complimentary finger foods for the first half hour!

Who will be there?
The party is open to the entire independent comics community. This is our 5th year hosting the Indy After Party which has grown to well over 250 attendees. As in previous years the party has been sponsored by multiple independent companies. We've already got 5 sponsors lined up, and are looking for a few more to make this event truly a cross-section of the entire comics community and related fields.

Do you have entertainment?
Yes! This year's major recording artists are Gordon Gano & The Ryans!
Gordon Gano (the Violent Femmes) is joined by Billy and Brendan Ryan (The Bogmen). Their first album, entitled Under The Sun, was released in September 2009 on Yep Roc Records. We fully expect that Gordon will be doing new cuts from their album as well as select numbers from their combined discography.
www.myspace.com/gordonganoandtheryanbroth

How can you show your support?
Admission passes will be distributed at the convention by the sponsors.
There will be a cover charge of $5 for all others.

Who should I contact?
The party is being organized by Mark Mazz who can be reached at mazzstudio at gmail.com

Regardless of your level of involvement we welcome you all to this dynamite event at Blaggards Pub (between 5th and 6th Avenue on 38th Street) in Manhattan, NY.

Come on out and celebrate your Independence!

About our sponsors:

Atlas Unleashed
atlasunleashed.com

Red Anvil Comics
Red Anvil on Facebook

RedZoneGirls
RedZoneGirls.com

Immortal Gothic
www.immortalgothicangel.com

Blue Line PRO
www.bluelinepro.com

Brooklyn Comics & More, Inc.
www.brooklyncomicsandmore.com

Bronx Heroes Convention
www.bronxheroescomiccon.com

Bulla Apparel
www.bullaclothing.com

Comicbook Artists Guild
www.comicartguild.com

MediaConnection
www.mediaconnectiononline.com

Secret Identity Podcast
www.secretidentitypodcast.com

The ToonSeum
www.toonseum.org

Entertainment provided by:

Gordon Gano & The Ryans
www.myspace.com/gordonganoandtheryanbroth

Till next time kiddies, enjoy the night.

Weeks Away

2010-09-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been absent for many weeks. I apologize for this but I swear it has been for the greater good. In that time the summer has waxed and waned. Now my garden wishes I had more help with it. My Mom broke her ankle and had surgery. I was by her side at each step to recovery, and I bought her her first pair of converse hightops. She loves them and calls the her dr.who shoes. It's really cute. What that meant is that I spent the growing season making her two gardens, one at home and one vege garden at a community garden plot, were well off while my own suffered in my absence. Sometimes it is important to make sure that the ones who you love are in the right type of environment to get well. Perhaps these things are simply excuses, but I was none the less prevented from updating most of my weekly events with any frequency. Now onto the drama:

So I have been working hard. I am pleased to announce that Meth is complete. It will be available at New York Comic Con as well as being available online. Here is the link: The Meth Collection . I know it's expensive and I'm sorry, but it is perfect bound, full color, and caps at 80 pages including a super spiffy wrap around cover.

Next, I have a lot of new naughty girls. I have created six new images to add to my naughty girl collection. Three of them will be featured in a book put out by guildworks productions that is themed, "girls with guns". I also created three new ones that feature the Suminagashi inks. I have really enjoyed making them and will have prints available of them at the convention also.

Now... I only have one page left to complete the story of Rose Against the Moon. It is exciting and sad all at once. I have had some ideas about this last page and fear I have psyched myself out over nothing. I hope to complete a pin-up of Rose as well. Honestly I think the pin up will be easier than the page. It will reveal Rose in full the way that I see her. Makes me nervous because I am afraid of disappointing Nathan...

So there has been a lot going on and a lot more to come. I will do better at updating now that I am falling back into a school schedule. No more long breaks. I aim to finish off Rose, continue Am I Immortal, and inform you of other wonders that I have yet to announce. The world is about to become a bit more vast my darlings. Till next time, enjoy the night.

To the smell of burning rubber

2010-05-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to the full moon this week. I have been doing things a little bit differently in the garden this year. I have not been getting as many plants at once and instead been planting as I go. this works out much better then not being able to walk on my porch, which has previously been the case. I almost have my back garden completed (I really need flat rocks, free flat rocks) and I am pretty proud of it. Last year it was not a very nice place at all and I have worked painstakingly to reclaim it from this big rooted crap. I have to do a good bit of TLC to the front still, and where the landlady ripped the trees out on the side :cries: it's HORRIBLE! I have all the perennials that are fighting with the weeds trying to make me happy. they are all volunteers, not something that I put there. I still am fighting the urge to burn myself out to try to save them. Oh man, I just wrote a ton about my silly garden. sorry about that. Sean has been taking photos so perhaps I will be able to convince him to post some of the beautiful pictures he's been taking. Till that time, here's the list:

I was able to get my paws on the first two of those ink pieces that I sold at the convention. Everyone say "Thank You Erik" for making that possible and scanning them for me. I hope to add a few more to this collection over the next couple weeks. I have had some illos come in for a book though so I may have to put these ladies on hold. Maybe I will use this technique to make one of those illos.... hmmm. I think I'll do that. This is my favorite of them thus far.

I was able to update both webcomics this last week. Sorry for the break on Rose, but with the convention and such it was just TOO much. The page for the Origin this week is very blue and the child looks so much like Damon did when he was a baby. I didn't mean for that to happen but I am not surprised. Either way I am pleased with the outcome of the page. More blood for the Rose page. I know exactly what I want the page after to look like, which is a very good thing. There have been a couple pages in Rose that I had gotten hung up on and this last one that I did was one of them. I think I have the entire rest of the story pretty well planned out, as well as the dramatic and wordless closing page. Please make sure that you check them out : Immortal Gothic Online

Speaking of online fun, the podcast is now active. Master of ceremonies Sean Tyler, Shane McKenzie, and K-Pax now have two episodes available for your listening pleasure. They talk about all things current or coming and pepper it with a bit of insane reality. Listeners are always invited to swing by and join in on the fun at Sarge's Comics in sunny downtown New London, Ct. when the show is recorded in the early afternoon on Wednesdays, contact the podcast crew on facebook, or via email to get heard. It's a hilarious take on current events but you'll have to go listen to know what I mean: The nameless podcast It updates on Thursdays, and with any luck will soon have its very own listener inspired name.

So I got one of the concept pages for Meth completed in color. I'm actually quite proud of the thing despite that it is actually pretty brightly colored. The text on it even came out pretty well. I was moved to write on it once I was done with he final illo. I had said I would post it so you all could get an idea for what the new areas of the book look like so here you go.

So I totally did more stuff too, but I really want to go watch True blood so you have to suffer through another week knowing that I will show you more new stuff. I gave you tons of stuff this week. two links for you to investigate that has an hour of audio and over 30 pages of illustrated prose. Two fancy pictures to look at. Be happy people, be happy! So now I get my ice cream and you have things to look forward to. Please make sure to go look out at the full moon mid week and don't forget to enjoy the night my darlings.

Water

2010-05-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

So I went to a glorious convention. It was not very large, but it was run with a certain amount of caring. I found out the gentleman who was in charge of the whole thing felt quite horrible on the day of the event, and he made it so you totally could not tell at all until he told you. Thank you for being such a good sport Erik! I met some really cool people. We have already exchanged llamas on DA. I know, how silly, but you gotta keep your priorities straight after all. Anyway, I really enjoyed myself a lot and am very thankful to Tom for inviting me, and then to Erik for being so thoughtful in post. I feel that ComiConn was a great event for both creators and fans and I can't wait for next year! Now for the ever lovin list:

So I have been playing with water. I have been talking about it to everyone and posting my experimentation up on Deviant Art. I really enjoy doing it and have started to make a collection based around various semi-precious stones. The first one was the water witch, but all of the newer ones have stone names. I have the right ink and the right paper. I really enjoy it, so look forward to more. Here is Amethyst so that you can see how they are turning out:

I started to ink Am I Immortal book 3 a bit ago. I can't remember if I had mentioned it or not. I feel that it is going well. Mark Mazz had a glorious idea to try a new technique through part of the book to see if it is worth utilizing in the future. Most of the book will have the look that the first and second book have, but then this one portion will have some of the things that I had learned when I made Meth: The Call and see if it makes it faster, as well as more dynamic.

Meth... The pages are completely colored now. I will give them a once over to be sure that they are consistent. I think they are, but it is best if I take a sec to reset my eyes and scan it again. I am very happy with how it is coming. I feel that I cobbled it together effectively and managed in creating a full story comprised of many parts, rather then a complete incohesive mess. I still have to finish the color on the concept pages. I think that should happen quickly once I am given the time to sit with it. I want to get a couple pages ahead on both of the web comics so I am able to devote myself to it and make sure that it comes together properly.

Don't forget to check out the update for Am I Immortal: Origin this week. I like how it came out and I was able to incorporate my original thoughts for the page into the new format. I hope that your week is pleasurable and that you take the moment that you need to enjoy the dogwood blooms and all the glory of the changing season. Remember to enjoy the night.

Up to Trouble

2010-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I found the death in my house... and another problem. There was a bunch of little mice, which my cat has been slowly depleting... actually you guys will think this is a little funny. My cat is a house cat and a remarkable mouser. He can sense when mice are thinking about coming out from the wall and he goes and grabs them. That is when the problems start. see, the cat just plays with the mouse, which is not nice.... but my dog... my dog is a glen terrier and he's a thief.... so he hears the cat playing with the mouse and he goes and steals it and chews on it until it stops moving... when he drops it. Then the cat plays with it which re-spawns dog interest... anyway. I think he's taken to eating them which is so nasty! But I think the duo found a mousy mommy and then I got a wondrous smell which was a really horrible awful thing to find. The other problem is septic which I can't fix because I rent... so expect a lot of really angry artwork. With that said, the update:

I did a new technique which I am really happy to be learning. I watched a bunch of video on youtube and then cracked a couple inks to get it down. It is something I have wanted to do for years, but wasn't sure what materials where used. Turns out it's water and a certain kind of ink... which I didn't have. the first piece of my experimentation is called "water witch" and is all different blues. I have four more sketches made up to try this technique with and had thought to have each of them be a different color set. Anyway, this is how "Water Witch" turned out:

I don't know if I had mentioned it before, but I also did get the new version of "Am I Immortal, the extended edition". It looks really good and I am very proud of it. It is available on indyplanet right now and there is a link to that in the compass in the sidebar on the right. I have put in a few pages for you to see so you can get a taste of how the interior stories look. the cover is a redesign that features the immortal Gothic logo too. I am really happy with how it turned out as a project.

Back on Meth. I colored a bunch more pages and am nearing completion of that faze. Sadly that means it's a bunch of tough things left. It means a lot to me for this book to come out just right. It represents probably 5 years or more of progression through my work. I only have a couple of the content pages left to color and then I am on to those concept pages which I created. I'm really happy with how they are coming along. It's small touches here and there. Just enough color to draw your eye without detracting from the piece as a whole... or such is my attempt. I will have more good news on that subject soon and it will come together pretty fast from here on out.

More new updates for "Rose" and for "The Origin". I am still trying to create each of these stories with their own dynamic style and very different feels. I think that the next few pages will be the defining moments for each concept. "Rose" is nearly complete as it caps off at about 20 content pages. "The Origin" however goes on for 40, but it will admittedly be nice to go down to one update a week and spend that extra time getting more books completed. Both of these concepts will eventually be available in a printed form. "The Origin" will be a landscape and I was thinking to make it a hardcover that you can purchase from me at the conventions. I had started to write the main storyline of Am I Immortal first, but it is "The Origin" which goaded me into rewriting my existing pages and distilling the concepts of my idea into the form you all now see. I only hesitate with its printing because... it's gonna be expensive. I need to feel it's worth before I ask you to invest, especially with the content being available online. the hardcover would be me passing a real piece of myself onto you, my fans, which is why it would only be available for sale from me in person. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please let me know.

So I think that is what I have my paws in this week. I know that there is more, there always is, but those are the major things that I accomplished. If anyone knows any tricks to kindly tell your landlord to get her shit pumped... please let me know. I'm going to need to broach that area soon here and I'm not really sure how to gently do it. Please take care in this new blooming world and remember to embrace the night.

By Candlelight

2010-05-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Really it is a horrible reason why it is by candlelight too, hate to say. I believe that something, or a family of somethings has gone and died over in the walls or under the floor where my desk is.... that means that I have been on the verge of clinical insanity whilst trying to get the normal madness done and happy. It has been increasingly difficult for me to work because of this fact and what I have done, has been... well to quote a friend from deviant art: scary!!!

So, what's so scary you ask? Well Cain is. I got this glorious idea when I was on the brink of insanity and lost my marbles all over a rather rough piece of sketch paper. Hate to say it but if I had realized it was going to turn into something so nifty, I would have used better paper because the stock I drew it on scans this disgraceful color when I try to embolden the pencil lines. SO ANNOYING. I have it posted up for view on facebook and on my deviant art profile if you want to see it part way completed. I have gotten some really great advise from my comrades as I felt like I drew myself into a corner with it. I just didn't know where to go.
Image of Cain

What's next... well I have been pushing ahead on both webcomics as always. I think that both recent pages involve... blood running off of or down something. I am pleased with the effects that I got for Rose and Am I Immortal continues to have a subtle detail to it which I hope to continue. In the past on Am I Immortal, I have used stock that has been available on deviant art and am grateful to those artists for making such references available. I am just not able to climb random cliffs or comb the countryside for fields of dandelions, so their use is much appreciated and will be noted in the print version of the book, if that ever happens. Rose has been, all my stuff...so I can't say that there. But I have found, when working for someone else, it is best to OWN everything so that way you don't end up with third person syndrome. I hate he said she said.

Last for this update, I have been trying to get a number of physical pieces completed. I have the mouse skull, which is an actual mouse skull. Half is mummified while the other half is clean. I took the liberty of putting gold leaf in some areas on the clean portion so the thing has this gilded look now. and it's jaw got all wiggly so I had to superglue it shut :sigh: weird eh? that is not it either. I am also working on a painting. It involves every type of material I can cram in there. I desperately hope neither one is a fail.

So that's it my darlings. No pretty pics for you save for four pages from the webcomics. Go look. Oh yeah, and I am inking. You know what that means.... almost time for book 3...

My My

2010-04-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Boy am I ever tired!!! You see, I don't know if anyone has figured this out about me but I am one of those green people. I don't mean green like the girl in star trek mind you, I mean that the moment there is no snow on the ground, I look outside for the first signs of life. This year I had a violet that bloomed all winter the crazy thing. Toward the end the blooms got smaller and smaller, but what a strong little soul for trying so hard. Now however it is difficult for me to plant my narrow butt in this chair to work instead of planting things outside to grow. I started some seeds a couple weeks ago, but then because of the rain they got all weedy and weak. I was sad. Now I have planted a bunch more and have my fingers crossed that they will do the same, up 12 days before their pack says they will germinate thing, without being all slim and pale. I could go on about it for hours... but being outside with my vain efforts at taming my bit of land here leaves me all sleepy later. But I was still pretty productive now that you know my issues with green so, here's the list:

I was able to get that last concept page for Meth completed. I've already started to color it so you gotta wait to see it till it's all done. I figure that way you will get an idea of what the other pages are going to look as well. I don't know if I had mentioned this previously or not, but I have half of the book colored already. I know what I will need to do to make the pages print ready and am very much looking forward to this beast in all of its glory. I think that with the editions that I sell at conventions, I will encluse a disc that has some of the precolor work on it as well as some neat screen savers and other original art. I had also though to make a bookmark too that would be included. this is what happens when you give an artist a shrink wrap machine... we'll find a use for anything.

I know I went on about it a short while ago, but I am so happy with this last page of The Origin. It is the first time that I tried to draw Cain as a child. I feel it came out pretty well and it is the first time that most people will see what he looked like before the scar. I can't believe I made this story so long! I hope that you all enjoy it and I swear, it does get better as it goes along. Here's the link:
Page 11

So Nathan has been unable to get a connection for very long so has not been able to tell you that he is going to SPACE (a convention) this coming weekend. Please make sure you stop by to see him, or make the effort to track him down, if you go. I believe that he will be with Speak Easy Productions so check with them first. Now this is not just some random jibe to get the boy some looks at a con. I hooked him up and he will have some things with him from Rose against the mooN. I sent him a care package that includes two different smaller posters, two different bookmarks, and one larger poster for Static Lullaby. I'm really happy with how these things came out and I hope that he has a great time at the con. Here is what one of the smaller posters looks like, though I think this is one instance where the print somehow looks better than the digital...

Now for those of you who don't know, I am reprinting the illustrious book 1 of Am I Immortal in an extended edition. It is available on Indyplanet right now and I should get my first run of them in the next two days. There was an error with the original run but now everything is perfect. It looks amazing and I was able to work with the staff at Kablam to really make it what I had in my mind's eye. I am so pleased with how it has come together and I feel that it holds true to my intent for Am I Immortal: clean, elegant, and a touch dark and messy. I will have them with me for the few summer shows that I am able to do. I really love the book now and I hope that you do as well!

Alright! I did mention that I was tired from playing in the dirt all day and then playing in the digital world after the sun went down. My body desperately wants me to be nocturnal so mornings are getting more and more rough. Maybe I should just sleep till about 12, eat, go outside around 3ish, come in around 6 or 7 for dinner... and then catch up on my shows and work on some artwork. Man, I need to find a go around for the day job :Sigh: Soon enough my pretties. Till then, enjoy the growing warmth of the night.

Pre-Con Jitters

2010-04-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I'M SO TIRED!!!!!! I have so much I want to do and before I know it....Poof, the day is gone. It has certainly been one of those weeks where I have just felt pulled in about 800 directions and I just want everyone to be happy. That's my job, keeping the peace around here, which is awfully hard. It did stop raining here and we were among the lucky few who suffered no immediate damage from the extended rainfall and subsequent flooding. My husband finally got his new car on the road and in fine working order. My child is doing the usual exact opposite of everything I say, just as every true agent of chaos should. Now on to the list!!!!!

So tomorrow I will be making a presentation to a girlscout troop. I thought it would be great glorious fun but am now finding exactly how few kid friendly things I actually have. I have had to resort to some non-published illustration that I did for a friend of mine who passed away. He wrote a bunch of short stories and, after he died, my task was to create imagery for his tale of how the bat got its wings. I was a lot less consistent then, but the illos are pretty good, very bright, and should demonstrate what I need aptly enough. Now I just need to print the lot of them out...

I am going to be attending MoCCa this weekend, well, their art festival thing that they have, which is why I am a little late on the update. I have been going out of my mind with all the preparations for this show. It has been hard because I just got my new printer (which I love, in case you missed my facebook updates to that end) so I am scrambling about trying to set it up properly and get everything that I might need printed out. No small task. It also means that if there are any images in my galleries that you want to own a non-corporeal version of... I can make that happen.

I went through all of The Origin pages and fixed them. It is a very subtle change, but now they are all uniform which makes the anal retentive part of me very very happy. Now the font is all the same everywhere, they are all the exact same size, and I adjusted the color on some of the pages to give it a bit more punch without diminishing the moodiness of it. That is why I was late with my update which I humbly apologize for. I knew it would be a big thing for me to do... even if it was barely noticeable when you look at it.

I may have to skip Rose this week because of the convention. Nathan will be there so if you want to meet the writer and artist all in one spot, go to MoCCa. I hope to get some pages drawn while I'm there, but it may be completely crazy.

I was able to finish the concept page for Sarah. It came out very well in my opinion. Just pencil, but hey, I think my pencils are my strongest suit right now. Now I just have to draw the page of them together. Meth and Sarah. I bugged the artist who will be featured in the book. Very cool guy, one hell of a language gap between us. I believe that his work is very much worth a few extra moments where we both try to figure out what the hell the other person is talking about. I'll let you know when I get his piece as, aside from a few ads and the joint concept page, that will make the book ready to go. Hooray!!!!!

With that I bid you good evening my lovelies. Make sure that you take a moment to enjoy the spring air... unless you are allergic and then hide foul beasts, hide! LOL, enjoy the night.

Second verse same as the firsT

2010-03-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

So... it is still raining. Today the state closed down due to flooding. I am pleased to announce that I have not washed away. My little shack stood firm whilst the big sturdy house in front proceeded to slowly fill with water which was made evident by the number of hoses that shot water out its side windows. I guess that the highway was closed too because there were rivers across it here and there. My poor dog looked like we was covered in gray wet spaghetti. I'm going to have to shave him soon as this is the time of year where his shed turns into mats especially when he gets all wet... so I know all about what that gray spaghetti really means. Now for the list:

I have been working on Sarah's concept page. I'm happy with how it is coming along but haven't had more than 15 or 20 minutes to sit down with it at a time so it is very slow going. It is a page that shows the various incarnations of Sarah, from the corseted Saraphina to the tattooed Seraph. I had really wanted to show what Meth loved... the parts of each incarnation that moved him to be so torn. I wanted to show why he would yearn and feel such greed... to just share her time and feel the grace of her love. Pretty high hopes for a simple pencil sketch. I hope I have even a small level of success.

I was able to do a push on the Origin. I am now two weeks ahead. Sean (he is the husband for anyone who doesn't know me well) said he really liked the way the page I just posted came out. simple yet telling more than just simply what the words say. I like the page I have yet to letter. It is a mess. It is dark and moody and it came together a lot faste then I thought it would. Here is how the unlettered page came out, though to warn you, I may yet add some touches when I letter it.

After having become quite stuck on Rose against the mooN: I really needed a reference which I could not find, well... I found it. Over the next couple days I plan to plow through the next few pages and put myself squarely ahead so that I am able to put my full attention onto Meth and get it completed. I am really happy with how this last page came out for Rose. I feel I made the smoke, a theme through most of the populated pages, and the moonlight, which is the other running theme, integrate well together here. That was something I was a little paranoid about because both of those themes are in such contrast visually. Look forward to more of those hybrid visuals as I picked both of those things to be constant themes in Rose... wish me luck.

Alrighty then... sadly I must leave you lovelies for another week of evil. Be safe in this great wet world. Remember to wish upon the first star at each dusk and close your eyes to hear the spring peepers sing to the waning moon. Enjoy the beauty of the night.

Another Rainy Night

2010-03-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm already yawning. The rain sounds so good. It drowns out all the sounds that make it hard for me to sleep and...ah, at last a promise of rest. We'll see how long it lasts. I planted my first batch of seedlings, indoors of course. I'm still stoked though. I can't wait for the rest of spring to arrive. I'm looking forward to my new printer which will arrive before the rest of spring sadly. It symbolizes the end of me paying a ton of money for prints I could be happier with, which means that I shall be able to offer more prints of my work, more bookmarks, and the potential for a lot of things that I will be able to offer at a reasonable price, instead of a lame crazy price. Now, without further a due.... The ever lovin list:

This last week I wrapped up the Meth Collection layouts. That means that, after I get a few odds and ends tightened into their spots, I will be able to get the book printed. What do I mean by odds and ends? Well first off the end of the book will feature three pages of colored sketches: illustrated concepts that show the character dynamic of Meth and his love Sarah. I should have done this with him ages ago but was so consumed by Cain that I had not gotten the chance. I will also be featuring an artist whom I have just recently gotten to know. I feel his work speaks for itself. His name is Vlad, very cool guy, and I'm sure that you all will embrace him just as you have my own sad scribblings. Here is the first Concept page, uncolored and untreated, that I completed for The Meth Collection:

Next, you know I have been updating both The Origin, for Am I Immortal, and Rose against the mooN diligently. I so have to color more pages for each and aim to do so tomorrow evening. I really enjoy both styles that have come through in each of those. though I am making them both, they are very different as for process and the level of detail, the way I use the pages. Origin has become refined, but still offers a vagueness that I had hoped would allow the person reading the story the ability to empathize more with the few characters I show boldly. Rose on the other hand has this near distortion that I have let seep into even the more detailed images. It's fun to linger in this duality, but nearly impossible for me to explain. I hope that you have and continue to enjoy them both.

With the receipt of Sean's camera late last week, we decided to go out to the dog park to let his pup run about and see what our cameras could do, why is this news to you? I think I got some really nice tree skeleton pictures which I have used in Meth and parts of Am I Immortal. Sean got some for me as well. I have been trying to expand my library of images to include a lot of the seasonal imagery I may need that I can't always get due to the time of year. I will need these for Am I Immortal soon as I have poor Cain trapped in this odd time where you can't really tell if it is spring or fall, but it is chilly and the trees are skeletal... still not freezing though or poor Rem would be in for it.

Alright my darlings. I will close with a chorus or growls and barks from behind me as Sean plays with the puppy on the couch. It really sounds like they are killing each other. Good thing that dog is only 8 pounds or Sean would be in deep deep trouble. Get rest my lovelies... and know that I am dreaming in the rain.

On The Move

2010-03-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Life has been really crazy lately. good thing I am ahead to a degree on the webcomics or I would FAIL so very hard!!!! The hours have picked up some at the day job so I have been left with a smidge of time here, and a bit more over there. I am also starting to become preoccupied with the garden as each nice day threatens to swipe me from my happy computer chair once and for all. then you would have to come find me up to my elbows in dirt and bugs outside with SPF 500 sunblock on so I don't just set aflame, LOL. Every year I have such high hopes for what my garden will turn into, and every year it seems like something comes up about half way through July and screws up all my plans leaving it all weedy and crazy. Maybe it just takes after its mistress and refuses to stay in the lines. I don't like the over manicured look anyway, but I would like to be able to see where the line is between the mint , oregano, and wormwood so I don't make psychotropic foods. That would not make Damon any easier to placate and then we would be back to explaining that the zombie in the closet really won't get him, so long as he keeps the door closed at night. Onto the list:

This week I must offer nods to a great stock photographer. I used a portion of one of her stock photos in the update for Am I Immortal, Origin. It is difficult to tell that it is the same place, LOL. Even so, her stock made the page work out really well for me so please go check out her stuff as she has a huge variety of goodies and a great eye for photography: camaryn-wallpaper

Next, while we are on the topic of webcomics, make sure you go look at the Rose against the mooN. That is another one I have been illustrating and I know that I have said it a few hundred times, but it updates in Immortal Gothic Online on fridays. The style for that one is different than what I use in the Origin. A welcome break.

I have the re-release of Am I Immortal 1 extended edition placed on order with Kablam. I am very excited about this. The book weighs in at a heavy 44 interior pages, 48 including the beautiful new cover. It will sell for $5.00, sorry, I know that's more than normal but normally you only get about 30 pages. It has some new art in it, the single strips of MiniCain, which I had developed but not run in the first release, and the 12 pages that come just before Cain wakes up. I will also have it available through Indyplanet and will make sure to post that url everywhere once I get it up and active.

Meth, yes Meth has come back to the surface. I have started to compile the pages into the form I need them in to submit them to Kablam. I'm doing a few pages each day so, though it is slow going, it is getting done. I finished the cover last night. It is a wrap around cover. It is really gory and I completely grossed myself out with the few elements that are on the back side. This book is very dark and very stark. I feel that is the best way to have it live up to what it is in my mind. The presentation is of course, backwards for most of the story. I punctuated the parts, the individual stories, with letters that will give the reader not only a time frame, because they are dated, but further insight into what is happening to Meth. For those of you who already have the parts available in psychosis! books, the Collection has three parts that were never released, the letters, and various art pieces and fan pieces which should make it worth picking up anyway. I can't wait to get it done... my wallet sure can though. Printing books is expensive! If anyone knows of any good rich benefactors that are looking to support creepy goth girls and all their crazy aspirations, please send them my way! Full color is expensive to print... oh yeah, Meth is in color!!!!!!

well, I think that might be it my lovelies. I feel like I am forgetting something but I can't remember what on earth it could be.... don't you hate that feeling? Oh well, till next week... enjoy the night!

what's with the schedule?

2010-03-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

I know, don't hold your breath but I am not late!!!!! I have remembered to be timely and now, for the second week in a row have managed to update not only this little bit of evil here, but both The Origin webcomic and the Rose against the mooN webcomic. No I have not become ill or struck with some bone chilling malady that keeps the gears rolling full speed. I have just been trying and pushing really really hard. Breaks are for the weak, and so I have taken the time to make up a backpack that has the means for me to work on any number of projects. Maybe I am just really really sick, LOL. Either way I am getting the job done, after a fashion, so here's your update:

Today I completed two pages for Rose against the mooN. That will hopefully afford me an adequate amount of time to play final fantasy 13 which I also put 4 hours into today. I am really happy with the way these pages are coming out. There is a seediness to them that I didn't think I would be able to manage. Mind you I am tickled fricken pink that I have done it... but I entered the tale with a mild bit of trepidation that I could have it come across the way I wished, while still having the solid simple detail I had intended to be dominant. Lets see if I can keep this up, LOL.

Next, I have all of the resized interiors for Am I Immortal's re-release completed. I had to rework some areas as part of my issue with book 1's and book 2's original release was a mild lack of consistency involving some of the interior material. Now that won't be a problem. I also introduced some elements I had wished to be included in the original version that was not. MiniCain is one of them. I thought it would offer a little different perspective on my direct relationship with Cain and make people laugh a little bit. Also included in this issue is the first 12 page section that was published through Dimestore a couple years back. That makes the book 44 interior pages, better known as a sizable piece of meat :)

I don't know if I had mentioned it here, but I recently aquired a Japanese ball jointed doll. My intention is to have him eventually look like Cain, but I had needed the means to recreate his face as I am not comfortable carving away at something that I spent the much money on with a dremmel, as the doll does not have Cain's frown or scar. Look forward to pictures of him in the future. I aim to have him be really cool.

I will be getting my first professionally framed piece done soon. Ironically I am getting two framed, but giving one to my Mom for her birthday at the end of the month. It is the painting called Cain Razed and his himself looking all... well, he looks evil and has a bevy of burning buildings behind him. I am looking forward to it probably a lot more than I should be.

Well, I'm off to watch the crazies and play more final fantasy 13. Be bad my beloved few. Be very bad in all the worst ways...

The Third Month

2010-03-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

So things always feel like they are taking WAY longer than they need to. I have always had a case of hurry up and wait. I feel like I must rush all over to get everything done as quickly as possible, only to the be stuck waiting in the end for some other aspect out of my control to fall miraculously into place. I also have been graced with a serious lack of patience, so you can imagine how very well that goes over. Now that you know those sad facts, we'll move right along to the list:

I had finished a logo for a friend of mine, Sarah, and just this week was able to get the versions that she needs of it off to her. It is a great compliment to me that she liked my design well enough to use it. I was trying to create something that was visually appealing, and yet simple. I thought that it would suit what she needed it for the best if it had those features. Her site is called sheneverslept.com so please make sure you pay her a visit. It is news and reviews, all on the darker side of things.

I did a convention in NY this last weekend. Not the best timing and it was a one day show. It had snowed all week and was threatening to be miserable all day so there was not the best turn out ever. I was happy to touch base with some people that I rarely get to see and that is a very good thing, but any hope of selling things generally goes out the window when there is low attendance. I did however manage in getting three more pages of Rose Against the Moon drawn and completed the third page just earlier this morning. I will be posting it on friday so make sure you go check it out.

Today I did another update on the Origin http://www.amiimmortal.com/origin/. I can't wait to, and yet dread, get to the new pages that I have scanned. It's gonna be painful because of the colors. I thought that Rose would be simpler and it actually takes longer than the process I use for the Origin. Seems like that's just the way it is. Maybe I'm just getting slower at it and it is simpler... or maybe I'm just pickier than I was when I started and refuse to settle until every detail is to my liking. I just hope to be able to continue posting both webcomics on time and get to the ever growing mountain of work that seems to be closing in about me.

If anybody knows a way for a little extra promotion for the site here and the webcomics... please let me know! I need help in that department as I am just to busy creating all this to be able to be online trying to promote it, or even breath. I will continue to make updates and keep the work flow coming, I just need help spreading the word! I have banners available if you want to post a banner on your site. I have promo imagery too, so please contact me. I have no problem putting up other banners in my links area to help you out in return. Thank you my sweet demons. Till the next, be well in your darkness and enjoy my offerings to you.

The Rain

2010-02-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while and was reminded of that earlier this evening. I really will start up again with weekly progress reports I promise. On a side note, Damon has been doing better these last couple days. I was able to get my viola, which I have wanted since I was a child myself. It is currently going for it's first check up at the doctors and getting outfitted with some high end strings and generally getting a bit of love from the goddess of violins herself, Ester. My doll is waiting for me at the post office and I will go pick him up tomorrow. I can't wait. Now onto the news that matters:

I had mentioned that I was doing a trade with another artist and I have my part completed. It is called the Guardian of Dark Animals. It is maury, a character that I had come up with for promoting psychosis, but in an ascended form. She has white wings and is surrounded by three animals that show different auras, one green because it is a herbivore, one red because it is a carnivore, and the other a blue because it eats carrion, a death eater.

Next I have managed in not only creating the webcomic engine that was similar to the one I had liked so well on my old site, but I have started to use it. Rose against the mooN now has two pages up and Origin has 3. Go check them out if you get the chance. They are both in Immortal Gothic Online. I will update them about once every two weeks. I would love to be able to do it with more frequency, but I am so crazy and don't want to say something I am simply not able to do.

I almost have the podcast portion of the site completed. The graphics are all in place and it looks pretty sweet. Sean likes it which is what is important. We hope to start putting content on that soon and I will update when it begins. We're both really excited about it and will have some interviews up, perhaps even before the podcasts start. Look for the link shortly on the main page of Immortal Gothic.

Speaking of Immortal Gothic, you may have noticed that the site is nearly completed. Mostly I just need to create a few graphics. I like the way the main page looks now, and am excited that it works on smart phones and mobil devises because of the way that I did it. Turns out my little work around ended up being the best idea after all. I hope that you enjoy the look and feel. I tried to keep it easy to use and consistent. I still have a lot of work to do for the Am I Immortal site. I think I am going to end up creating a gallery which will take time. I have started that but it is not linked up as it is still very very basic.

I have created a couple logos and have done a commission. I am very pleased with how this work has all turned out. I even got paid for the butterfly which was kind of amazing. I still have no idea how much to charge... so it's kinda rough. Here's the butterfly so you can see what I was able to do:

Well, I'm sure I am forgetting something. I finished Static Lullaby, that was good. This is why I need to update more... I can't remember everything. Oh wells. sorry about that my darlings. Till next time then? It will be sooner than this last time. I just need to get over the I'll do it tomorrows, LOL.

What Comes to Pass

2010-01-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

I know, it is neither a Tuesday, nor is it regular. I assure you though, despite that, today is the day for me to tell you about what has come to pass. I have been up to no good at all these last few weeks and kept myself very very busy. With that greeting I offer you my list:

Where to begin... well, I suppose the best place would be with Mr. Michael Cervantes. I have been keeping my big mouth shut about him though I am positively hopping with excitement. Through years (about 4) of pestering, prodding, and generally making an utter fool of myself being a fan of every little thing he makes, I have managed to convince him to just make his book already. I am happy that he has started... even though he is suffering from the sit down and everything leaves my skull as though my head contained the black plague syndrome. I promise you it's in there!!!! I swear!... and I can't wait to see it. so, he has a blog, just like the rest of us, which he will post his journey in. I have found that... even though it may not have been meant as such, he makes me giggle...

Next I suppose it would be wise to mention that I am wrapping up Static Lullaby as we speak. I literally have the last page open in another window here and look forward to lettering it this evening. I am excited about the prospect of having another finished work under my belt, and will then barely be able to contain myself awaiting its release. I will post a link to it once it is available online.

GodSlayer.... I completed an image for that recently also. I am very very proud of how it turned out. It was one of those images that just falls together. I was very emotionally invested in the idea, as when Nathan relaid some of Red's past to me... the image haunted me until I got it down. The result was exactly what I had wanted, though still leaves poor Red wanting for an of age representation as, in the image she is a girl, and in the book, she is a woman who has lived through what that girl experienced.

what else... I was featured in an article on deviantart.com called the Manga/Anime Theme Fetaure Vol 1. It was the first of its kind to be posted and I am very grateful to have been selected. They chose my image for Snow leopard to take part as the theme was Snow. The article's purpose is to bring light to artists who have yet to be seen in the community, lesser known artists that the admin feel deserve the chance to be brought to light but may not have had the popularity to be elected for a daily deviation. Here is the link:

http://news.deviantart.com/article/106107/

I'm sure that I have forgotten something. I'll remember at the most inopportune moment I'm sure. Till next time my dark darlings, embrace the night :)

Tardy

2009-12-15T15:41:00.000-08:00

I'm a bad girl.... I know. I skipped a week to update you . I almost missed today as well. I remembered. Work has been crazy. I work in a frame shop which has been nutz. It will be nutz until after the holidays. Everyone wants all their stuff yesterday. On top of that we are all frazzled so hooray for the holidays. Well, I got all my packages in the mail. I have two big purchases and I am done! So on to the ever lovin list!!!

I have been doing a large amount of work on the website. I have all the creator images completed now... for the initial launch. I have created a sort of database that will be the skeleton for how sales will proceed on the site. I have also gotten started on creating Immortal Gothic's sister site which will host more content and galleries for Am I Immortal. The main page is giving me some serious issues because I am stumbling over how to create buttons that react differently in different states. Ugh.... so hard. I can get it to work and then when I set two of the states to invisible it all disappears.... grrr.

Static Lullaby is in the big black beast and I am working on the layouts for it. I'm over halfway done with it so soon I should have the pleasure of making Nathan a very happy person. I like making people happy.

I have created my holiday image for this year. I believe that it came together pretty well. I expanded it and am currently using it as the background on my computer.... It's just a nifty image. If anyone wants the background, let me know and I will forward it to your e-mail :) Happy to share the Luv

I also only have some lettering and effects left on Snow Leopard. The tones are complete and the images are all set.

In the upcoming couple weeks I hope to stay focused and continue pushing forward with my endeavors. Thank you for your patience and support. I'll see you all soon sly cats. Enjoy the night!

embraces

2009-12-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Hartford to visit Lizzy. We ate Chinese (food not people) and visited the local art store (my favorite one) where I got the ink I need for Am I Immortal#3 and a bunch of emulsion and water based textile inks because we have been screen printing. Those were not the things that I went there for. What I had needed were some art trading cards... you see I thought I had lost them but instead had handily attached them to my big clip board so that I wouldn't lose them. So art cards...$3.00 what I left the store with $70.00 a day with Liz and her Ma...priceless... yes I went there. Here's the workload:

The short story that I had said I was fighting through is finally completed. It is sad and needs editing, but it has a title, "Heartless", and a good bit of potential once I take a step back and allow it a moment to breath.

The Inks for Static Lullaby are complete and the pages are re-assembled. I am looking forward to this project's quick completion...providing I am able to run through the rough spots.

The Eye of the Wind deserves her fair mention. I am making a painting for my stepfather. The ship's name is The Eye of the Wind. I hope to have her in the eye of a storm cresting a wave with her hull half out of the water. She is an amazing ship and I can tell you I am moved by her like I have never been by any other. She has a black hull with two masts, a honey toned deck, a cloud for her figure head which looks like a blowing cloud...oh and I can't leave out her BLOOD RED SAILS!!!!!! She stole my heart the moment I saw her, and I hope to meet her someday.

Last I have some really cool news. I have been commissioned by Ink Dot Boy to expand my collection of 3 images, which was my original intention, to 6. These images will be set up in a variety of sizes as well as grayscale or color so that his promotions people will be able to easily utilize them with minimal effort and cost. It is exciting because, like with Nathan and Sean, Ink is very creative and it is easy to feed off of his drive to make really moving imagery.

I wanted to mention a note of congratulations to Henry and his Sarah. Every dark one has a Sarah... and some are even named that. I also want to congratulate my new found friend Sarah on her Henry :) I wish you all the happiness you can muster in your binding.

No preview pics this week, sorry. I am embroiled in scanning so would only be able to offer you boring textures anyway.... or images that appear to be half of what they should be. Next week I hope to be rich in visual aids. Alright my lovely dark ones, till next week... do be as bad as you're able!

Embers

2009-11-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

This week has been nutty. I suppose that could be said each week... but I have been feeling it more. Perhaps it is the Holiday. I have see some pretty amazing things some of which I will share before the usual update. I had my birthday, which I really wasn't looking forward to at all. It turned out to be a lot better than I thought. The only thing I had wanted, I got, which were super chocolate cupcakes.... and I discovered some wonderful things. I have this flower that is blooming in my garden. Seems so trivial, but despite the chill, the time of year, that none of the trees have leaves around it... my gypsy rose created one giant last flower which opened in a bed of chocolate mint on my birthday. I have been told that I am foolish to think that this would not or could not happen... as it is my garden after all... but it was so nice last year when my violets bloomed through the snow... and the rose this year. It is as though the world is trying to remind me that I once took in every day as though it was the first time I had seen it. Whatever there is out there that took pity on me and made such a direct spectacle to get my head back into the game... thanks.

So this last week I have once more tried to be as busy as I'm able and chip away at my workload. Here's what I got:

Am I Immortal: The Crypt has its pencils completed. I shall be moving to the inks on that in the next two weeks. I aim to get a few more things finished before I... tie myself to the bottle as it were, but am very much looking forward to getting started on it. The Crypt caps off at 24 pages, that's 2 more than my work with Free Lunch. I will also be reinstating Mini-Cain so you can look forward to that. The worst thing about it is my dry sense of humor so if you can get over that... you should enjoy it.

Am I Immortal: The Origin has seen some of its last revision now. As you know my intention was to post the piece online and have it eventually printed as a hard cover. This will indeed be the case though it will take me a LONG time. The script is 47 pages in it's most basic form. That means that it will cap off at 50 minimum with the potential for more if I have stand alone imagery or interject some advertisers... which I may choose not to do in the case of the advertisers. My intention was to have this maintain the look and feel of a fairy tale despite its adult themes. Somehow I got this crazy idea that a good story can be beautiful, and have since been pushing myself to improve enough so that this vision is satisfactorily brought into existence.

I have also gotten a lot closer to completing the finished inks on Static Lullaby. It is an interesting layout and I hope I am able to create the feel that Nathan had wanted through out the story. Working off of Sean's base inks has made it easy to just add a little here and there to really make it pop as I feel he did a great job. I predict that these pages will come together smoothly, though I know of one that may have me swearing at it a few times.... but the last page is always the worst...

I have been writing a short story recently. I keep getting interrupted so it has been very slow going. I have some fears that it will be inconsistent. It doesn't even have a name yet. I just had this idea I needed to get out. I will post more information on it as it comes into clearer focus.

Sadly that's it... but that's a lot if you think about it. I admit that a fair amount of my invested time went into The Origin. It had started as an 11 page piece and needed serious alteration before it would be image ready. I also had to do a lot of content alteration as, at the time I had originally written the thing.... I was really into some parts of it and just not into other parts. Hopefully I have filled in those gaps. Till next time my beautiful damned... enjoy the night.

Full Steam

2009-11-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone. This last week has simply been a blur. It hasn't felt real honestly. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm not liking it this year. It's not because I'm getting older like a lot of people, it's because I liked being 33. My lucky numbers are 3 and 13 so.... I enjoyed i t. 34 is rather anticlimactic in comparison. I'll be all happy again at 36, I'm sure. On another note, my shoulder is slowly improving. That means that I have been able to start getting more done. The next few weeks will still have some pretty big fluctuation as my work schedule (the day job) will be crazy. The joys of retail. Here's the skinny on what went down this week though:

First I had wanted to let you know that I have been able to work on Am I Immortal once more. I feel that I have made a sizable dent and have started to make up for the couple weeks of downtime. I am part way through page 21 now, and don't forget I still have page 24 completed. That that means that I have roughly 2 and a half pages and then I move on to inks. I am excited about my progress. I feel that with this installment, you will get to know Cain a little bit better... perhaps enough to understand why I am so driven to get his story onto the page. No matter how much it hurts.

I have completed another image for Godslayer. It came out pretty cool except for one hand. Red is the girl's name and she has this kinda old fashioned steampunk fusion thing going on. I was inspired by Vargas (he was a pin-up artist for playboy for many many years) for her character design, and though at first she may not have been exactly what Nathan had thought of.... she fits the bill pretty well.

I have been able to work more on the website too and have been able to create some more of the imagery. Waiting for responses from some of the other artists so that I can finish, but all and all I feel I have a firm handle on how it is shaping up.

I have completed another piece for Ink Dot Boy as well. It is HUGE. I got some really great feedback from his fan base from the first one that I did and he had mentioned something about anything I made, he would use...if it was like that...so how could I decline. This one is very different from the first. I had to alter the girl in it as I needed her to be visibly dead. The original image the girl was looking away from the camera and I needed her eyes to be visible. Even the person I found that I did use is....very different as I altered he expression, facial structure. The background is much the same.. it is so different from the original that I had trouble finding it again when I was done with the picture. I think that Ink Dot Boy himself is really the only thing that is close to what he looked like, but I covered him in blood so...yeah.

Well, wish me luck for the rest of the week. I'll see you on the other side of 34...blah :(

Escape

2009-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

I don't think that I have mentioned here that most recently I have been in a considerable amount of pain. When I was younger I was in a car accident.... I loved that car (it was my favorite) but apparently the guy driving the little truck behind me loved it far more than I as he decided he wanted to try to permanently bond it to his truck.... and I came out with whiplash and a ripped shoulder. It was my right shoulder of course because that would be the WORST THING EVER. So I apologize for not creating enough to warrent two posts a week these last two weeks. I've said it before and I shall say it many many more times... I don't have much that is very interesting to say anyway... so onto what's what in my worklist:

I was able to continue on Am I Immortal a little, but was not even able to complete one more page with my shoulder that day. I need a lap desk or something to rest my elbows on so I can become more productive and not suffer so much. I will attempt to get more done on that this coming week.

I did however complete Hunter, which is a concept for one of the characters in Godslayer. Nathan should be putting some info up on Godslayer in his blog soon. I have the Concept for another of the characters, Red, nearly completed. I am REALLY enjoying drawing her. She's supposed to have some armor... but I think I will have to create another page for that as this image is all attitude.

The Meth Collection is back on track. I completed an ad for it....which you will see below. The Ad is for a band which I listened to a lot while I was making A Matter of Faith and the additional content the collection has. Yes, the ad will also be in color. The band is Ink Dot Boy (www.inkdotboy.com) and the album is called the Red Symphony. I felt with the original images.... it wasn't RED enough. I had explained to the front man of the band, Andy, that I have a love affair with red...so I would hold him hostage and mess with him until I was pleased with the result. I'm just glad for his patience as I made him wait some time while I played.

Sean and I finished screen printing and painting some immortal Gothic shirts. They look pretty sweet... and I am pleased with the result. They are a beautiful mess!

I also did some sculpture. I haven't taken any shots of them yet. The one I made is a small white sparkly mask fitted with gears for eyes and a flat head screw for a mouth. Will made another which I then fitted similarly. I hope to mount them both on some kind of pendant and put them up for sale on etsy. I completed one other necklace too. I had hoped to get pictures of some of my wares up before this post... but alas... here we are.

Till next time my darlings. Enjoy the night. I can't complain... I still have flowers blooming despite the cold. Almost makes it worth venturing into the sun to thank them for blessing my land through the frost. Sweet dreams... green spirits.

One Shot

2009-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

This weekend was another convention that signified the end of my con season for 2009. Now I get to concentrate on wonderful things like... getting older and... christmas. I am not really looking forward to very much, honestly. It seems the projects that I have now... which should be so simple to complete are taking an eternity. I HATE waiting. On the other hand I don't want to be super pushy. It's like balancing on a tightrope. Too much and there is the threat that people will perceive me as being impatient and difficult to work with (which I completely admit to being but I try to curb it so I'm not a complete loner), too little and I will never get anything done. I just need one thing done! I'm running myself into the ground trying to work every angle to just get one step ahead. One good thing would make it all seem like I am working so hard for something! I don't even mind paying for it! Ugh... so without further complaints... the update for the week:

I spent most of the week working on the website... unfortunately it just crashed and I had to delete the subdomain completely. So I am back to square o ne with it. I have an edge because I know how to do what I want now.... but I was supposed to meet with my webdesigner (wait a minute... I'm my webdesigner now) tomorrow so he could answer any questions that I had about how to make it exactly what I want instead of close. I am using wordpress but kinda twisting it, so there are some features that I want to remove from the basic page layouts. I figured out how to make it do what I want... so I am very sad because it really took a lot of work on my part...which is now all gone :(. So I feel like I wasted a ton of time on NOTHING. I could seriously cry right now. now I just keep getting error messages when I try to do anything...

On a related note, I worked with Liz Ortiz and Sean Therrien to get their respective blogs up. Soon that network will be running. Now if I could just get the site up.... man I am really about to cry..... a lot! My goal is to have all the navigation for the individual blogs and main site in the compass in the sidebar so that it will be easy for people to navigate from one thing to the next. I would love feedback on the basic design of things... especially once I get the redesign of the site running live. Perhaps tomorrow Devin will show me once more that I am just an artist who is truly not good at figuring out the right code.... man I was doing so good. You can see where my mind is now, LOL.

Over the weekend I did a few little sketches on artist cards. One of them was really cool because it was not my normal style at all. It was a chibi version of this character for a girl at the convention I was at. I would totally post it.... but I am waiting for Liz to send me the scan...poke poke....liz!

I got some more work done on Am I Immortal book 3. I am happy with how it is coming. I keep saying that and can only continue until I get it through to a digital format. I desperately hope that you will enjoy it. It will be printed under the Immortal Gothic banner which offers me a bit of relief. I will be at my own mercy.

Nathan gave me an amazing update for Godslayer. I can only tell you that I know this story is going to be insane. I'm really glad to be involved. I need to get him pictures for Red and Hunter....so.... I gotta jet. See you all on a less blue night... when I do more than sleep all the time and wish I would stop hurting...

~s

Need for Sleep

2009-10-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am so very tired but am keeping myself up trying to eek out that last little bit of work. Work you say? Why what work would that be?

Currently I am lettering and making the greys on Snow Leopard which will be published in the CAG Manga Anthology With Honor. The piece was written and created by Henry Covert, penciled by Albie Luciano, and inked by Alex Rivera. I am simply the lowly letterer and adder in of many skies and snowfall for this one... this team gets all the credit. With Honor Facebook group That is a link to where you can get more info, preview some of the artwork, and become a fan of With Honor.

I am on page 16 (turns out it was page 20 that I had previously completed) of Am I Immortal now for pencils... I think. It's in my bag so I'm not sure. I'm really happy with how the pencils are turning out. One of my mentors once said that a lot of great comics and stories are that one step ahead because the pages show you actions without words... sorta like if you watch a movie in fast forward... you may not get the joke, but you can tell what's happening based on the attitude of the characters within the frame and know one has been told. I'm trying for that... and my usual one panel I love per page. Wish me luck!

I made a necklace.... It is pink so I will be selling it, LOL. It says love on it... and I might be tempted to vomit in its presence if I hadn't created the darned thing. I'll probably sell it before anything else just because I feel that way. Always seems to be how it works. After this weekend I intend upon getting some stuff up on etsy. I will provide a link when I do.

I finished the redesign of my site. Now comes the tricky part of figuring out how to make it do what I want. I will have a meeting at some point this next week or the week after with Devin, who is the original designer of most of my sites inner workings. With any luck... you will see some changes shortly in it's basic function, though the layout will remain much the same. I will continue with updates on it's progress.

I have started to set blogs up for others who will run under my banner. Those will play a big part in the main site upon it's completion. Right now I have mine.... obviously... and have set up Nathan Baker's which is : The Silent Soul . I know he has some writing up in a link there, so make sure to stop by and say hi, if you will.

I think I turned into a pumpkin hours ago and just haven't seen fit to get up and go to bed. ARGH!!! I'll rest when I'm dead. I need ice cream and coffee, that's all.

~S

Haunted

2009-10-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome once more to my night, lost souls. I am pleased to announce that I have been quite infected with a new tale. It is unfurling in my mind like a soft petaled cereus and has been filling my head with such evil musings. A word of warning... this story is not mine, but Godslayer, which belongs to Nathan Baker. That means you can expect a bunch of steam punkish trippy crap from me for a while and that's not a bad thing at all. Anyways, my child is still the devil... my husband still patiently waiting for me on the couch... and I have nothing very interesting to say except for an update of events.

Today we got the shots from both graveyards for Am I Immortal. This means I have the shots for The Crypt as well as all the graveyard shots for Coast to Coast (which is book 4). I will still need shots from the marina, the highway, the alley behind the radio station, and for the running sequence in mystic. I know that sounds like a daunting amount of images... but it's not and could all be taken care of easily in one day. Whilst in the big graveyard in mystic, we came upon a chestnut tree that was ripe, so we looked up a recipe to roast chestnuts cause we wanted to see what they tasted like. I mean if it sucked they would not have made a song about it at all. Then it occurred to me that we would be eating chestnuts that came from a graveyard.... is that wrong? It's the ultimate form of recycling. Would that be the vegetarian version of cannibalism. Hmmm. My my who would have thought that getting a few photos would lead to such a scandal. Well, if anyone does have an issue... I WRITE ABOUT VAMPIRES... and any woman who doesn't enjoy entertaining a light snack from time to time is just... a nun!

Next comes the drawing part. I have pencils completed through page 11 now for Am I Immortal: The Crypt. Normally that would be anticlimactic but I know that I already have page 16 and 24 done...so that means I'm over half way there. I have the physical cover art completed as well, but was going to make a digital version for the cover itself. When (yes I said when) I have a gallery opening in the future, you will be able to see Blood River. I told you about that last week so time to move right along.

Girl parts!!!! My son has a riding lesson on Thursdays and every time we go they have more bones for me. There was a doe who died there and now she's spread all over the field, but when they find her bones they give them to me. Right now I have her skull and some of the major bones from her legs. I really hope for a couple ribs and some vertebrae, or a hip...man that would rock. Why am I a hoarder of this girl you ask? Well, she is not my first set of bones. She however is the first that wanted to be something. I am going to give her wings and fit the parts I have so that she can become something again. I rarely work in sculpture and have been moved by her to give her what she wants, to be made immortal. So look forward to that sometime in the future.

I also managed to write a few more pages of Am I Immortal: The Runaway. I think I know what the character looks like and I'm really excited about it. I need to clarify it in my mind a bit more before I attempt to make it. I mean it took me about 3 months of thinking before I put the goth king down and he turned out OK. I think this rugged runaway will come faster, but we'll see.

Last news is the Logo. You see it actually... to the right with my last name over it. I know, pretty sweet huh? Shame this blog thing insists on microscopic. So my work will now have that logo on it even if I am signed cause that's how I roll... or I just really like my logo, LOL. Also, any other creator whom I work with who wants to be under my umbrella will have that marking, but with their name over it... obviously. I'll have to see what they are turning out but, I have faith in those I run with. On that same note I had wanted to mention Liz Ortiz's first book, Rasgal, will bare the mark in it's next printing. The book is really good (I have a copy of the first printing) and I am so happy that she has been able to push and make her dreams a reality... and in record time! Congrats Liz on #1!!!!

So with that my darlings I must go about the rest of my evening. Next week I may only be by once as I have a convention in Vermont. Bakuretsucon. I love that con. It's like a vacation cause we all know each other. Should be great times. Stop by if you're in the area!

~S

The New Night

2009-10-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today begins the new night. By this I mean... Recently I have become independent. I am starting fresh under my own name again. Mind you this is quite a frightening prospect. I feel this to be the lesser of two evils however. I have always been better at keeping by my own clock... and have blossomed into something that likes to work alone, much like many of my influences. Those whom I share my mind with, well lets just say it's like expanding upon my own thoughts rather than compromising with another separate entity. I hope to offer a home for those who have been disillusioned and displaced, and offer you... those few who crave more than just to be meek the chance to meet those I am shared with.

Now I will share with you what I have been up to:

Am I Immortal (Immortal Gothic) by Shawnti Therrien, Packt: the Crypt is one third of the way through pencils. I hope to get the photography done in the next couple weeks so I can beat leaf fall

Am I Immortal (Immortal Gothic) by Shawnti Therrien, The Runaway: Twilight Path is three pages in for writing... and for those of you who are not aware of how crazy I am... that would be book fourteen in the series.

Meth (Atlas Unleashed) by Shawnti Therrien, The Collection is completed. I am in discussion with Atlas Unleashed about the final details of printing, release, and promotions. If you want an ad in that book, please contact me, myrretah @ gmail.com, for rates and sizing specifications. Any and all support is appreciated.

Static Lullaby (Atlas Unleashed) by Nathan Baker part one is to inks. The first two pages are completed. I will finish the pages as I recieve them from the inker, Sean Therrien, and thank Nathan Baker once more for granting us such an amazing concept to work on.

Static Lullaby (Atlas Unleashed) by Nathan Baker part two is in the finishing stages of script completion. I already have some great ideas for the pages and hope to start on some concepts once the script is fully polished and approved. I feel lucky that I had the chance to sit down with Nathan at the convention this last weekend to work out the gory details.

GodSlayer (Unsigned) by Nathan Baker is through to the conceptual stage. I was able to create a couple good images that lend a feel to the world that story takes place in even though they are only of the characters themselves. Once more it just meant sitting down with Nathan and getting them on the page so he can shop the idea around and find the right artist (more on that coming soon). I hope to have further involvement in this story even though I will not be the main artist as I love the idea.

Blood River, a painting by Shawnti Therrien is now completed. I will make a digital version that will be the cover for Am I Immortal book three.

With Honor, the CAG Manga Anthology is in it's last stages. Tweaking lettering. Triple checking the stories. The printer is still up in the air so I am not sure what size the pages need to be. That makes things a bit more difficult. My only hope is to give all the artists the best first impression that they could hope for. Some are new and this will be their first published work.

How too, Yes I am gonna be in a how to book. In fact I should be doing that instead of writing this and working on concepts for godslayer...but I have to keep a careful balance in my head of things. All of the artwork is prepped and ready to go. I am unsure of what they want for Copy so I am procrastinating. I should not...

With that said I promise you an update soon. Thank you so much and I will keep you posted on the horror that is my life as best I can....